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What Apps to Download Before Going to China
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Install the essentials at home, on Wi-Fi, and register while your usual phone number still receives texts reliably. For a first trip to mainland China, that list is short: WeChat, Alipay, DiDi, Amap or Baidu Maps, Trip.com, and a translation app with offline Chinese. Add Dianping or Meituan, Xiaohongshu, 12306, your eSIM app, and your bank app if you have time.
You do not need thirty icons on your home screen. You do need the ones you will actually open on day one, already logged in.
Checked 14 November 2026. App names and menus change; download only from official stores.
Essentials
| App | What it’s for | Set up before you fly |
|---|---|---|
| WeChat (微信) | Messaging hotels and businesses, WeChat Pay, mini programs, QR menus | Register, enable WeChat Pay, link a card |
| Alipay (支付宝) | Payments, metro and bus codes in many cities, DiDi and bike-share entry points | Register, link a card, complete passport verification |
| DiDi (滴滴) | Ride-hailing (taxis and private cars) | Register with your international number; add a payment method |
| Amap (高德地图) or Baidu Maps (百度地图) | Maps, transit, finding entrances | Install at least one from an official store; save your first hotel |
| Trip.com (携程) | Hotels, flights, and train tickets in English | Create an account; save bookings offline or as screenshots |
| A translation app | Voice, text, and camera translation of menus and signs | Download the offline Chinese pack; test camera translation |
WeChat is not only a chat app. In China it is messaging, payments, mini programs, customer service, and QR scanning in one place. Hotels, guesthouses, and shop staff often prefer it to email. You will use it to message a hotel, pay with WeChat Pay, open a QR-code menu, and join a booking or customer-service mini program.
Register with your home number. Enable WeChat Pay and link a foreign card. New accounts registered abroad are sometimes asked to complete a security check, which can require help from an existing WeChat user — another reason to do this before you travel, not at the airport. A fuller payments walkthrough is on how to set up Alipay before you fly and the coming WeChat Pay for foreigners page.
Alipay
Alipay is the other front door for payments. Many visitors find it the smoother of the two for linking a foreign card, generating a metro QR code, unlocking a shared bike, or opening the DiDi mini program. Install both WeChat and Alipay. Some merchants accept only one.
Set it up at home: official store only, home number, foreign card, passport verification. The Alipay setup guide covers fees, limits, and the 200-yuan rule.
DiDi
Uber does not operate in mainland China. DiDi is the main ride-hailing platform. You can use the standalone app or the DiDi mini program inside Alipay (a useful backup, because payment can go through Alipay).
DiDi’s Apple App Store listing (developer description, last opened 13 November 2026; not re-verified as a full store listing on 14 November 2026) describes an English interface, login with an international mobile number, in-app chat with English–Chinese translation, international bank cards as a payment option, and 24/7 in-app English customer service. Register before you fly, and learn how to set a pickup pin — that is the step that usually goes wrong at airports and stations. See DiDi for foreigners.
Amap or Baidu Maps
Google Maps is often a poor everyday map in China, even when it opens on an international-routing eSIM. Install Amap (Gaode) or Baidu Maps from the official Apple App Store or Google Play. Do not download either from an unofficial APK site.
Amap is generally the easier of the two if you do not read Chinese; Baidu Maps has strong coverage but a more Chinese-first interface. Language options change, so check settings after installing. Copy the Chinese name of your hotel into the app, or drop a pin. More on this is planned at Amap in English.
Trip.com
Trip.com (the international brand of Ctrip, 携程) is generally straightforward with a foreign passport: hotels, flights, and high-speed rail tickets in English, paid with a foreign card. It is a commercial agent, so compare prices and read the change and refund terms. For trains, see the honest comparison with official 12306 in how foreigners book high-speed trains.
Trip.com may later be an affiliate of this site. That would not change the comparison: convenience and English support on one side, official price and direct control on the other.
Translation
Use an app that does voice, text, and camera translation. Camera translation is the one you will open most: menus, signs, hotel notices, medicine packaging. This page does not name a single “best” app. Test yours on a Chinese menu photo before you leave, and download the offline Chinese pack so it still works if data drops.
Strongly recommended
| App | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Dianping (大众点评) / Meituan (美团) | Restaurant and café reviews, opening hours, photos of dishes |
| Xiaohongshu (小红书, also called RedNote) | Recent posts on cafés, neighborhoods, and weekend events |
| 12306 (铁路12306) | Official China Railway tickets, with an English site and app |
| Your eSIM provider’s app | Data balance and top-ups |
| Your bank’s app | Approving or unblocking a card when the first China charge is flagged |
Dianping and Meituan are where residents look up restaurants. Even if you cannot read the reviews, the photos show what people order, and you can point at a dish. English-language review sites are often incomplete for China.
Xiaohongshu is useful for what people are doing this month, not ten years ago. Treat it like any influencer platform: posts are often promotional, so cross-check opening hours before you build a day around one place.
12306 is worth installing if you will book trains yourself. Register early; passport verification can take time. If you only need one or two tickets, Trip.com is often easier on a first trip.
The bank app belongs on this list because many issuers flag the first Alipay or WeChat Pay charge from China. Have notifications on, and know how you will reach the bank from abroad.
The eSIM app is only useful if the plan itself covers mainland China. A Hong Kong-only plan usually stops at the border. For how to compare coverage, routing, and plan types, see best eSIM for China. Whether Google, Gmail, or WhatsApp still open once you arrive depends on how your eSIM or roaming plan routes data, not on this install list.
A setup order that tends to work
- Install everything above on Wi-Fi at home, from official stores only.
- Register WeChat with your home number. Enable WeChat Pay and link a card.
- Register Alipay with the same number. Link a card and complete identity verification.
- Register DiDi and add Alipay, WeChat Pay, or a card.
- Install Amap or Baidu Maps and save your first hotel as a favorite, with the name in Chinese.
- Register on 12306 if you will book trains directly.
- Download your translation app’s offline Chinese pack, and test it.
- Install your eSIM (if you use one) and confirm the plan covers mainland China, not only Hong Kong. Compare options on best eSIM for China.
- Screenshot the hotel address in Chinese and the screens you will need if you are briefly offline.
Keep your home number active. The apps are tied to the number you registered with. If you swap SIMs and can no longer receive SMS, logins and payment confirmations get stuck. On a dual-SIM or eSIM phone, keep the home line on for texts (check roaming charges for incoming SMS) and use a data eSIM beside it.
This install list is one part of what to do before going to China, which also covers entry path, the official arrival card, payments, and backups. The First-Time China Guide ($22) puts the same setup in a single printable sequence for the first 24 hours.
FAQ
What apps should I download before going to China? WeChat, Alipay, DiDi, Amap or Baidu Maps, Trip.com, and a translation app with offline Chinese. Add Dianping or Meituan, Xiaohongshu, 12306, your eSIM app, and your bank app if you can.
Do I need both WeChat and Alipay? Yes. Set both up before you fly.
Can I install Amap from an APK site? No. Official app stores only.
What is the best translation app? There isn’t a single official winner. Test camera translation and download the offline Chinese pack.
Do I need 12306 if I have Trip.com? Not always, on a first trip. 12306 is official and at the official price; Trip.com is often easier in English.
Should I keep my home phone number? Yes, for SMS codes, alongside a data eSIM if you use one.
Will Google still work if I only install Chinese apps? That depends on your eSIM or roaming routing, not on this list. See Does Google work in China with an eSIM?.
Sources
- Chinese Embassy in the United States, payment guide for visitors (PDF) (Alipay and WeChat setup; opened 14 November 2026)
- DiDi China: Ride Hailing, Apple App Store listing (developer description: English interface, international-number login, translated chat, international cards, 24/7 English in-app service; last opened 13 November 2026)
- China Railway 12306 English website (homepage confirmed in earlier checks; not re-used here for current first or last ticket-sale times)
- Tianjin Communications Administration (MIIT), local SIM rules (14 April 2026) (opened 13 November 2026; cited for in-person local SIM rules, not as an eSIM shopping source)
Checked 14 November 2026, with the DiDi store listing and MIIT local-SIM page retained from the 13 November 2026 openings.
This page is general travel information, not official or legal advice, and it is not affiliated with the app developers named above. Download apps only from official stores, and confirm current features, fees, and screens in the apps themselves.
Affiliate disclosure: some links on this site may be affiliate links (for example eSIMs or hotel bookings). We may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. See the full disclosure.